‘Maid’ review: A star is born in Margaret Qualley

Based on Stephanie Land’s memoir, the Netflix mini-series is riveting for its performances, and the exploration of damage caused by the unending circle of abuse

Watching the extraordinarily gripping limited series Maid, one is struck once again by how different the lives of domestic workers are in India and the US. They are practically worlds apart. Alex (Margaret Qualley), the protagonist, has a route map out of her rock-bottom in the form of government aid, student loans and an education. That is something no domestic worker in India can aspire to in their wildest dreams.

Once you put that chasm of difference aside, you are quickly drawn into Alex’s world as she leaves her abusive boyfriend Sean (Nick Robinson), with her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Maddie (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet), in the middle of the night.

With no skills (Bryan Mills, where are you?) and a complicated process to get government aid, which sounds straight out of Catch-22, Alex approaches Value Maids, a cleaning service for the well-heeled. Her no-nonsense boss, Yolanda (Tracy Vilar), tells her the ground rules and sends her on her way.